Improvement in flax and hemp machines



- 2 Sheets -Shetl. G.'W BILLINGS. Flax and Hemp Machine;

Patented March 15, 1864.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. W. BILLINGS. Flax and Hemp Machine.

Patented- March 15, 18.64;

'Wit'n assesaw- N. FETERS. Fholb-l.iIh0gmpher. Washington, a, c.

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ATENT GEORGE W. BILLINGS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 4|.902, dated March 15, 1864 antedated Y March 5, 1861.

T 0 all whom it -ma,y concern:

Be it known that I, GEO. W. BILLINGS, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful method of removing shives of wood or other matters from flax, hemp and other analogous substances; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification.

The nature of my invention consists in attaching to any of the well-known devices for feeding and breaking the material a, series of movable knives or scrapers and lifting or feeding bars in conjunction with a series of smooth or fluted feed-rollers and pairs of stationary knives placed one above the other, so as to form throats so that by passing the material through the machine it is freed from all woody and other coarse substances without injury to the fiber. This is accomplished by making a set or sets of four stationary knives or scrapers, with feed-rollers so arranged that the lower one of the first set of scrapers will stand in front of a pair of smooth feed-rollers with the upper edge of the said knife one-half inch below the top line of the lower feed-roller, the upper knife standing directly over the lower one, and having a spacebetween them of about one inch. Through this space between the stationary knives the material passes, and in passing it is acted upon by a movable knife or scraper set in a frame, and to which frame pitmen are attached, which connect with a crank I motion overhead. This knife, as it passes down between the stationary knives, scrapes the fiber, removing all or a portion of the wood or shives therefrom. About eight inches below the lower edge of this movable knife and fastened to the same frame is a crosspiece, calleda lifting or feed bar. This bar is of sufficient width to nearly fill the space between the stationary knives, and when the scraping-knife rises up from between them, and as the pitmen reach the highest point in the circle described by the crank, the feed-bar lifts the fibers out from between the lower knives, and by the forward movement of the rollers continually pushing the fiber toward the throat, the lifting or feed bar taking up the slack "caused by the motion of the scraping- I knife, the material is carried forward to the next pair of rollers, and by them delivered to the nextset of knives like those above described. This'next set of knives and frame are constructed thesame as those above described, except that the scraping-knife is placed at the lower end of the movable frame, and strikes up between the.upper knives operating upon the under side of the fiber, and its feed-bar, when inch; that for, the second set, one inch; for

the third set, three-fourths of an inch, and for the fourth set one-half inch. After the material has been operated upon by the means above described, it may be passed through a series of such knives and rollers to further refine and split up the fiber for spinning; but the speed of the knives should beincreased. The space between the stationary knives should be less saythree-eighths to one-fourth inch'and the edges of the scraping-knives should be scalloped or set with short fine teeth. In setting the stationary knives in the frame, Iplace each set about one half inch lower than the one preceding it. I

Figure l is a frontview; Fig. 2, a cross-section, omitting the rollers for the sake of showing the relative positions of the stationary knives; and Fig. 3 is a full side view.

A A, Fig. 1, is the frame. B BBB are the ends of the gate or movable frame. 0 C. are the pitmen. D D are the shafts. E E is the gearing. F F are the cross-pieces or journalboxes. G G G G are the caps over the journals. H H are the cross-girths that support the journal boxes. I I are the stationary knives or scrapers. I is the throat formed by the stationary knives, through which the fiber passes to the movable knife; J J is the scraping-knife and lifting-bar. guides for the gate-frame B B. L L L L are the crank-pins, to which the pitmen at each end are attached.

In Fig. 3 I show a side view of this method K KKKare the of cleaning fiber, adding the rollers M M M between each two sets of knives, to exhibit the machine complete. In cleaning fiber by this method I deliver it to the feed-rolls M at' the receiving end of the machine, thestalks being previously well crushed and broken by any ordinary method. In passing through the process it follows the red line, as shown in Fig. 3.

In operating upon the ordinary marketable flax-straw, I feedthrough four sets of knives and rollers, and at that point take off and change the fiber to another four sets of knives and rollers; but the feed-apron is made narrower, the first feeding-apron being fi've feet and the second three and one-half feet in width.

In refining the fiber after the shives are removed, two and one-half feet in width is sufficient. The speed of the scraping-knives may be such that each successive one shall have a speed greater than that immediately preceding it.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

The cleaning of flax and hemp by passing the fiber between stationary knives or slats, in combination with the scraping-knives, the lifting-bars, and feed-rolls, the whole being constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as described and set forth.

GEO. W. BILLINGS.

Witnesses:

JOHN S. HOLLINGSHEAD, WM. M. IRWIN. 

